Instructional Services for Faculty and TAs

The library partners with faculty in developing students' critical thinking skills, especially in the areas of identifying, accessing and analyzing the quality of supporting data or evidence used in argumentation and reasoning. The Association of College and Research Libraries calls these skills "information literacy": "a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed, and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."

Woodruff librarians can work with you towards these goals in a number of ways:

Building on Concepts in multiple, shorter sessions

Breaking a research assignment down into 4-5 smaller assignments or segments provides an opportunity to develop students into researchers and monitor their progress along the way. Librarians can be involved by providing short sessions focused on the particular skills needed at that point in the assignment. To get some ideas for ways to have the librarian work with your class in multiple, shorter sessions, see what this professor at the University of Massachusetts did.

Course Research Guides

Course Guide

Librarians can prepare research guides tailored to your classwork to assist students with library research.

Guides serve as portals for students to begin their research for your course, as well as offer guidance in effectively using research resources.

These guides can augment a library instruction session or stand alone.